Hermione & the Daily View, 11/1

Since the rise of Harry Potter, I have been both admiringly referred to as and accused of being a Hermione. The new movie is coming out soon, so inevitably this is all beginning again. To be honest, I choose to take being called Hermione as a compliment, though I realize that some people intend to imply that I'm being a bossy little bitch. I have no problem with that—people are idiots, and sometimes you have to tell them so. But what upsets me about this whole thing is that I have always liked the name Hermione (no, JK Rowling did not make it up... idiots!) and now it has been ruined for future use. In the 7th grade I wanted to name any future female children Trilby and/or Hermione. I still like those names, though as a heroine of literature Trilby is a questionable role model (and if you remove the literary reference then you're left naming your child after an unfortunate style of hat), and Hermione has little mythological significance beyond being the daughter of Helen of Troy (and the name of several comic musical actresses in the 60s: Gingold, Badderly, etc.). So, between Hermione now belonging wholly to the Potter phenomenon and it being my college nickname, I think I have to cross it off my list. Sigh. Not that I really have much of a list these days. In 7th grade the idea of having kids was much more fun—I guess it's the puberty version of playing with dolls. I had lots of lists of names—I used to play with my name dictionary like Margaret Dashwood played with her atlas. Now I just worry about how much a kid is going to cost. Sheesh.

Anyway, things I've seen online that are worth noting:

• the Margaret Mead film festival is coming up at the AMNH.


• The Ice Hotel Canada is opening soon. I have wanted to go to one of these since I was a kid (hell, it was the only thing I enjoyed about the Halle Berry James Bond movie. Well, the ice hotel and the discovery of the mojito).


• Must check out Pandora, a music service that apparently scrutinizes your musical preferences and then recommends obscure bands for you to fall instantly in love with. Am skeptical.


• If being referenced by a major online publication hadn't crashed his server, I'm sure Clay Shirky's article Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality would be a fascinating read. Maybe the link will work later. Sigh.


• There was an article yesterday about parapsychology (apparently it can be studied at the college level... which kicks my childhood fantasy of becoming a Ghostbuster into high gear!) and today there is one about cryptozoology. I have never heard that term before, but I love it. Apparently "popular culture is currently going cryptozoology crazy" and "mythological creatures are also a diversion from the Iraq War" (you know, as opposed to their usual role in peacetime... ?). One artist is quoted as saying "I'm happy they've found the giant squid, but now I have to fantasize about something different." What, because the actual reality of the giant squid isn't awesome enough? What an idiot (says the cleverest witch of her age).